DONALD ROSS FONGER

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DONALD ROSS FONGER March 11, 1923 - June 29, 2006 It is with deep sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Don Fonger at the St. Boniface Hospital on June 29, 2006 after a recent battle with cancer. Don was born in Winnipeg where he spent all of his adult life raising his family and pursuing his construction career. Don is survived by his three children, Jim (Mari), Norma (Pat), Bob (Susi); and four grandchildren, Evan, James, Calvin and Elizabeth. Don is also survived by his brother Jack (Joan) Fonger, also of Winnipeg. He was predeceased by his beloved wife Vivienne in June of 2004; his sister Norma Adamson in 1977; and his parents, Leslie and Mary Fonger. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him. Don spent some of his early childhood years in Saskatoon and Edmonton as his father moved with the railway. In Saskatoon at age nine he flew his first flight in a barnstorming airplane. He and his brother Jack went up together and Don never forgot the impression that experience had on him. Several attempts to join the RCAF during the War were unsuccessful due to a serious arm injury sustained growing up. He joined the army instead and trained as a tank commander in the Canadian Armored Corps. He spent three years waiting as a reinforcement lieutenant for an overseas posting which never materialized due to the end of the war. In 1939 the family moved back to Winnipeg so his father could head Western Freight Operations for the C.N.R. Don studied Civil Engineering at the University of New Brunswick where he graduated first in his class. He was elected life president of the 1949 University Graduating class and was awarded a Lord Beaverbrook overseas scholarship. He also found time to obtain his private pilot's license before he graduated. Don returned to Winnipeg after his scholarship studies which had also included a two month motorcycle trip across Europe. He worked for seven years with local contractors and then partnered with Audie Peterson in their own commercial construction business. Years later that business became Fonger Construction which constructed over a hundred buildings throughout Manitoba. As some of this work took him farther from Winnipeg, he bought an airplane to supervise those projects. Don and both his sons took this opportunity to become commercial multi-engine pilots. The family used the airplanes over the years for many wonderful family vacations throughout North America, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Don's passion for flying also became an outlet for his interest in travel and adventure. In 1974 he went on to win the Manitoba Governor General's Air Rally trophy along with his navigator and friend Gordon Johnston. In 1985, he and his sons entered the first Transatlantic Air Rally. They flew their airplane, the Golden Boy from the Statue of Liberty to the Eiffel Tower landing in Paris at Le Bourget airport 58 years after Charles Lindbergh. Premier Howard Pauley gave Don a thank you plaque of the real Golden Boy to deliver to then Paris mayor Jacques Chirac in France. This trip gave rise to the idea of circumnavigating the globe in a small plane. In 1987 Don and Jim set out in their Twin Comanche and flew 26,000 miles around the world. Don chronicled this experience in a book he wrote entitled Challenging the Skies which sold several thousand copies and is in libraries across Canada today. Presentations of this adventure afforded him the opportunity to fund raise for numerous charities. His love of travel over the years allowed him to visit half the countries of the world and truly appreciate all the privileges we enjoy and take for granted everyday at home. Don also enjoyed a rich and fulfilling civic life in his community. On the day his second son Bob was born, he was elected a municipal councilor in Fort Garry. He was President of the Fort Garry Lions Club, Commodore of the Redboine Boating Club, President of the Shrine Motor Patrol, and Vice President of the Canadian Owners Pilots association. He was a longtime member of Rotary and more recently Probus as well. Don was also President and then Chairman Rainbow Stage Board where he raised the money and supervised the construction of the new stage facility and band shell that they still enjoy today. For this he was made an Inaugural Honorary Member of Rainbow Stage. Don also enjoyed a lifelong passion for making home movies that began as a child in Edmonton. He continued this throughout his life and early on served as President of the Winnipeg Armature Movie Makers. In his later years he loved to golf at the Niakwa Golf and Country Club as well as play snooker at the Manitoba Club. However, first and foremost Don was a family man. Nothing made him happier than seeing his children and grandchildren grow and mature. His reliable and steadfast support will be sorely missed by everyone's lives he touched. He was the consummate provider to all of his family. This will be his legacy and memory in our hearts. A special thanks to Dr. John Foerster and his nurse Bonnie, and the 6AS staff at St. Boniface Hospital for their compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to his charitable interest at the Victoria Hospital Foundation. Service will be held on Friday, July 7 at 1:00 p.m. in Thomson In the Park Funeral Home, 1291 McGillivray Blvd., with Rev. Ron Long officiating. THOMSON IN THE PARK FUNERAL HOME AND CEMETERY 1291 MCGILLIVRAY BLVD. (BETWEEN PEMBINA WAVERLEY) 925-1120 PLEASE BRING A TIN FOR THE BIN HELP US SUPPORT WINNIPEG HARVEST

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 04, 2006